In aircraft and other structures, it is often desirable to mount objects, such as magazine display racks or control panels, to various surfaces. One common method of mounting objects is by using Nylatch® or other expandable fasteners. Nylatch® fasteners are designed to attach a removable member, such as a magazine display rack, to a fixed member, such as the interior wall or other interior surface of an aircraft, by expanding latching members of a fastener, such as a grommet end of a Nylatch® fastener, to lock the two members together.
Another common method of mounting objects is by using pegs or other fasteners having a head portion and a shank portion, the head being wider than the shank. With these types of fasteners, the shank portion of the fastener is attached or integral to the object to be mounted, such as the magazine rack. The object is mounted by hooking the head of the fastener into an appropriately shaped aperture in the fixed member, such as the interior surface of the aircraft.
In at least some instances, the construction of a wall or other surface to which an object is to be mounted makes it difficult or impossible to mount a fastener directly to the wall or other surface, at least with the surety that is desired. For example, some interior surfaces of aircraft consist of honeycomb panels. As a result, mounting an object to the honeycomb panel with a Nylatch® or other expandable fastener currently requires the use of a sheet metal plate which defines a hole to receive the grommet end of the fastener. The metal plate is attached to the honeycomb panel using one or more potted inserts that, in turn, are mounted within the honeycomb panel. The object to be mounted is attached to the metal plate by inserting the fastener into the hole defined by the metal plate and expanding the grommet end.
Mounting an object with a fastener such as a peg to a honeycomb panel similarly requires supplemental parts to prepare the mounting surface. A sheet metal plate with a keyhole-shaped aperture is required to receive the head portion of the fastener. The keyhole aperture consists of two intersecting apertures, one larger than the other. The larger portion of the keyhole is configured to receive the wider head portion of the fastener, and the smaller portion of the keyhole is configured to retain the head in the installed position and is thus smaller than the width of the head. The object is installed by inserting the head into the larger portion of the keyhole and sliding the peg into the smaller portion. However, this requires that the honeycomb panel be cut behind both portions of the keyhole before installing the metal plate to allow enough clearance for the head to slide from one portion of the keyhole to the other.
The current method of mounting objects to such interior surfaces has several disadvantages. It requires the manufacture of multiple parts, such as the metal plates and the potted inserts. The use of multiple parts increases the manufacturing and shipping costs, the cost of labor for installing the metal plates and mounting the objects, as well as the overall weight of the structure, which is a particularly acute concern for aircraft and other vehicles. Aesthetic concerns also factor in when the object to be mounted is smaller than the metal plate used for mounting, and the choice of location of the fasteners on the object to be mounted becomes limited. These disadvantages are further magnified by the large quantities of fasteners commonly utilized on board aircraft and other structures. In addition, the fixed nature of the holes in the metal plates provides small tolerances and does not allow for minor changes in the position of the fasteners, making small miscalculations in the mounting process costly.
Thus, there is a need for a simpler, more cost effective way of mounting objects using Nylatch® or other fasteners that requires fewer, lighter parts, allows greater flexibility in placement, and provides greater mounting tolerances.